Coin-counting apparatus.



B. LUNDIN. GOIN GOUNTING APPARATUS. APPLIoATIoN FILED 1 }:o.9,'1ea1oA Patented May 21, 1912.

2 SHBETSfSHBBT 1.

WI THESSES f5 M am NVEHTU B. LUNDIN.

GOIN COUNTING APPARATUS. APPLIUATION FILED DB0.9,1 910.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.,

WITNESSES r Patented May'21,1912.

anton.'

IBIRGER LUNDIN, OF SKULTUNA, SWEDEN.

I COIN-COUNTING APPARATUS.

' Specification of Letters Patent. Patented lilay 21, 1912. l

Application led December 9, 1.910. Serial No 596,444.

To all whmn it may conc-em:

Be it known that I, Brnonn LUNnrN, 'a subject of the King ofSweden, and a citizen of Sweden, residing at Skultuna, in .the Kingdom of Sweden, have invented certain new and useful .Improvements in Coin- Counting Apparatus; land I do hereby dcclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to `which it appertains to make and use the same.

' This invention relates to a coin -counting apparatus which is of an exceedingly simple construction, and yet enables the coins to be f'countedexceedingly quickly and in a simle manner.

' ,The invention chiefiy consists in atrack provided with stops, supports, projections or the like, being moved past a. mouthpiece through which the coins are supplied to the track, the distance between' the mouthpiece and the track being calculated in such manner that only one coin o r a. given-num` ber of coins are carried away by each prof jection of the track.

Several constructions according to this in- Yention are illustrated in the accompanying i -constructions of the apparatus.

.shows the preferred form of my apparatus drawing in which:- i. 30'

i to this invention in vertical section, Fig. 2

- Figure 1 shows an apparatus according a. plan, and Figs. 3 and 4 show two modied Fig. 5

in plan; Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the same; Fig. 7 is a cross-section on line A--B of Fig. 5; and Fig. 8 is a detail, showing chute and .flap to supply feed tubes adapted to be applied to the above form when a plurality of feed tubes are used.

In the construction shown in Fig. l, the apparatus consists of an endless band l arranged about two rollers 2 mounted in a frame 3. The spindle of one of therollers -is provided with a handle 4C, so that, byturning the said handle, the band can be moved. The coins are introduced into a tube 5 which is funnel-shaped at the top, the bottom end of which opens over the band near to one supply or feed roller. On the outer side of the band are arranged transverse stops in the form of cross-pieces 6 at a distance from Opposite the supply or feed pipe', the band is' supported by a plate 7 secured to the'stand. The device is of such constructionY that, when the band'is rotated by' means of the handle 4 in the direction indicated by the arrow (see Fig. l), the coins are supplied to the charging pipe, and one coin is caught by each of the compartments formed by the cross-pieces. In order to obtain 4that result,

- that is to say, in order that each of the compartment-s 8 should take up only one coin, the device must be of such construction that only one coin should be able to pass each time at the bottom end of the tube in the direction of movement of the arrow. The simplest way for obtaining that result, would ,be to bring the tube or pipe down toward` the band to such an extent that the distance between these parts should be slightly larger than the thickness of one coin, but smaller than the thickness of two coins. Such an arrangement would be however,unpractical as coins are often bent out of shape, so that they would be unable to pass through such a narow interval or space `between the tube and the band. lFor that reason, the distance between the tube and the Vbland in the apparatus in question is slightly larger than the double thickness of coins, and at 4the-front side of the tube is arranged a spring 9 yielding in the direction of supply-.which spring can be replaced `by any other suitable elastic or springy partthe bottom portion ofthe said spring being arranged at a distance from the band which is only slightly' larger than the thickness of a coin, but not as large as the double thickness of a coi-n. The spring regulates the supply of coins so that each time only one coin can pass it, and at the same time also enables more or less deformed coins to pass, as in case of such coins the spring will yield.A f

The .coins after passing over the left hand supply or feedroller (Fig. l), fall down into a suitable receiver. lt is preferable to allow the coins to fall down intoadevice forming them into a packet as shown'in the drawing. This device consists of a pipe or tube 10 with a paper tube inserted into the same. The coins. in falling down into the paper tube, take up theirv place on the top of each other in good ordeii.

-The compartments 8 which take up the coins'on the band, are numbered. so that the number of the coins falling down from the band, can be -easil y counted. 'l`h 1 \.num'" bers are preferably divided into series',`eael;

ot which comprises the tigures 1-10, anil the apparatus is combined with a counting Vdes` vice indicating in well known manner tens,. hundreds, etc. Ateach compartment. theband marked 10, there is provided tot' purpose a projection rotating an ind'eX,. disk or the like, to the extent of one divi-' sion. It is obvious that the projections could be equally well arranged on the metal rollers' of the band. The units are read on the bands, it being merely necessary to read the number of that compartment in which the last coin is situa-ted.

W'hen the coins are first to be passed through a coin sorting device, several apparatus of the above described kind areconr bined with the coin-sorting device, that is to say, for each kind of coins, there is a separate band, the compartments, supply tubes, etc., being adapted'to. the corresponding kind ot eoins. The rollers at one end of the ditterent bands` tor instance at the delivery end, are then arranged on one and the same spindle, so that all the. bands can be rotated by means oit a crank mounted on the spindle in question. The rollers are preferably arranged in that ease on one and the same spindle also at the other end of the bands. The collecting compartments of the coin sorting device t'or the ditlierentt kinds ot coins` are of course arranged in proportion to the supply tubes ot the coin counting apparatus in such manner that theA coins tall directly into the pipes as soon as they have been sorted.

lu order to enable ditl'erent kinds ot coins to be sorted with a simple apparatus with only one, band, the apparatus is constructed in the manner shown in Fig. 3. 'lhe band is then divided into several, for instance three. portions. one portion 1l being provided tor large coins` t`or instance 2 Mk. pieces` another portion IQ For medium coins. tor instance 1 Mk. pieces. and the third portion 13 tor smaller coins. such as for instance 50 Ptg. and 10 ltg. pieces. The compartn'ients ot the different portions are then dimensioned in accordance with the different. kinds ot coins. and opposite each compartmentI marked 1() there are provided movable fingers lfl. l5 and 1G for the portions ll. l2 and i?, respectively. of the band. said fingers being adapted to'cngage a wheel or pawl or other suitable actuating means for any convenient torni of counting mechanism. one set ot mechanism being pro- 'vided for each portion and operated by each linger. These lingers are hinged` pivoted or otherwise movably attached to the band, so that they may be turned out by hand into operative position or ln'ought down at will on tl e band out of operation. \Vhen large.

coins are to be counted, only the stops 14 noaa-'s as are therefore brought into the operative position.A .For each series of traveling band portions there must be of course also one supply pipe.

, Fig. 4 shows a device in which the coins ftheniselves control a counting device. Inv

that case the band is provided with a longitudinal ledge 17 arranged in such manner vthat the coins slightly project beyond one edge of the band.. Next to the band is arranged a spring hook or pawl 18 which is in the path of the projecting edges, so, that during the passage of the coins, it turns each' time a disk 19 or the like. to the extentiof one step,

Figs. 5-7 show a construction on the same. principle as that in Fig, 4:. Two endless bands 20, 21, are arranged next to each other and around the same rollers 22. Between the upper portions of the band is arranged a xed bar 23 projecting from a plane 24 on which travel the upper portions of the bands. The bands are so narrow that the coins project beyond the outer -edges of the bands. VThe lateral movement outward of the coins is limited by lateralledges 25 arranged on the plane in question. The coin compartments of the smallest band 20 are,

dimensioned in such manner that the band can be used for all small coins, such as 1, 2, 5, 10 and 15 Pfg. pieces, and the coin compartments of the largest band can be used for any large coins, such as 1` 2, and 3 Mk. pieces. A single apparatus of the construetion shown in Figs. 5-7 can be. therefore.- used for all kinds ot coins. At the delivery end of the bands there is arranged for each band a star wheel Q6 operated direct by the coins, so that the wheel is rotated to a small extent by each coin. The Wheel is' connected to a suit-able counting device. In orderv consecutive coins. The erossjpiece's of thebands arepreterably made of hard material. In order'to avoid excessively wide cross pieces which would prevent an exact fitting of the bands about the rollers, two adjoining compartments are separated by means of two (or more) cross pieces, as

shown in Fig. 5. Before reaching the star wheel, the coins slide under a which keeps them in proper position on the band when they operate the star wheel. The springs are secured to a cross member 28 screwed down to the bar 23. The two star wheels are preferably secured to one and the same spindle 29.,

When a given number of coins 1s to be spring 27 broughtinto di'erent receivers (paper sleeves or the like), a locking or stopping device is inserted which stops the movement of the band' after the givenV number has 4been counted. This stopping device consists of a cylinder I30 provided o`n its circumference with" a division, for instance engagingwith the recess under the action'A Aof a spring. The'projection 37 is at the saine time moved inward and engages between two points of the star wheel, so that the wheel, and t-hiis the band, are locked.

The lever can be connected to a signaling device which, after a 'certain number of coins has beencounted, gives a signal. By setting the cylinder, or'the recess38, in a cert-ain position relatively to the portion 36 of the arm 35,'the apparatus will be there* 'fore automatically stopped, as soon as thev number of coins corresponding to the said position, have been counted. The cylinder can be rotated relatively tothe toothed wheel 31 when the latter is locked for instance by means of pawl 39, the cylinder being looselyinserted into the wheel 31 and connected to the same only by friction. .The locking device is thrown out of gear by means of a screw 42 which, in its movement inward, moves the lever out of. the locking position. In order to enable one single channel or chute to be used for the two bands, the said channel or chute is arranged in the-manner shown in Fig. 8. The bottom of the channel is provided with an opening extending over the two feed pipes, and in the chute .is rotatably mounted a flap 41 which, in one of its end positions, closes the smallest pipe and forms an extension of the bottoni of the chute, so that the coins fall into the large pipe,rwhile in the other end position, shown in the drawing, the flap forms a partition in the chutewhieh closes the communication between the chute and the large pipe.

Of course it is perfectly obvious that minor changes may be made in my construction and operation, but it is intended to include and protect alll such modifications 'in -this application and the claims forming part thereof, only several preferred forms being illustrated andspecifeally described,4 it heing impracticable to illustrate or describe all the possible modifications.

HavingI now. particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention,

and in what manner the saine is to be perev formed, I declare that what I claim is`:-

1. A coin counting device comprising an endless band divided .into coin compartments, rollers about which said-band travels, means for supplying coins upon said band, a count-A ing mechanism, a longitudinal ledge parallel with the longitudinal. edges of the upper part of the band 'and adapted to engage the coins so as to cause them to project with one edge beyond one longitudinal, edge of the band and. operate the counting mechanism.

2. A. coin counting device comprising an endless band divided into coin compartments, rollers about which said band travels, means for supplying coins upon said band, a' counting mechanism, a longitudinal ledge made as a fixed ledge extending along and parallel with the upper part of ,the band and adapted to engage the coins so as to cause them to project with one edge beyond one longitudinal edge of the band and operate thecounting mechanism. i'

3. A counting device comprising an endless band divided into coin receiving com# partments, a counting mechanism, a fixed plate supporting the upperpart of the band, a longitudinal ledge project-ing from the up per surface of said plate so as to cause the coins to project with one edge beyond one,

longitudinal edge of the band and Operate the counting mechanism, another longitudinal ledge projecting from the uppersurface of said plate to limit the lateral movement of the coins from the lirst mentioned ledge.

4. A counting device comprising two endless bands divided into coin receiving coinpartments, a counting mechanismv for cach of said bands, a fixed plate supporting the upper parts -ot' the bands, a longitudinal ledge projecting between the two bands from the upper surface ot said plate so as to cause the coins on each band to project with one edge beyond the outer edges ol the bands and to operate. the counting mechanism, two other longitudinal ledges projecting from. the .upper surface 'of said plate to limit the lateral movement of the coins from the in-A termediate ledge.

5. A Icoin counting device comprising a band divided longitudinally and laterally into coin receiving compartments, means for supplying coins to said compartments, a ledge parallel with the upper edge of said band and on which the coins carried bysaid band project, counting mechanism and means actuated by coins carried by' said band for operating said counting mechanism.

6. A' counting device comprising a band divided laterally and longitudinally into coin receiving compartments, ledges arranged in the saine plane, and parallel with the upper edges 'of saidband, the coins carried by said bandextending slightly on said ico ledges, lateral ledges for limiting the lateral movement of said coins, counting mechanism and means actuated by the' coins carried by said band for operating said counting mechanism.

7 A coin counting device comprising a band divided into coin receiving compartments, counting mechanism, means for open ating said mechanism,l said'meaiis being actuated by lthe coins carried by said band, and means for locking said counting` mechanism, said latter means coini'ii'isng a cylinder pro- -vidcd with a recess in its edge and connected by a train of gears to the operating means, and a lever, said leverenteiing said recess at a predetermined point and locking saidcounting mechanism.

S. A coin counting device comprising an endless band siiitaby divided into coin compartments, rollers about Which said band travels,- means for actuating said band,

t il counting mechanism, means for voperating said counting mechanism and means for 'automatically locking the device out of operation when a predetermined number of coins have been counted7 said locking means consisting of a cylinder connected with' the ,i

counting mechanism through a train of gears and provided with a recess in itscdge,

the counting mechanism, when 'the predetenv `mined number has been reached.-

In testimony-whereof, I have signed my name to this specificationin the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

BIRGER LUNDIN.

Witnesses JON Swim-son, AXEL L. HANSSON. 

